June 13, 2006 A Picnic lunch in the National Museum of Fine Art Sculpture Garden, The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta (the "Charters of Freedom"), the national archives, and the national museum of Fine Art.

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  From the perspective of Carrie:

Today is my birthday.  That means that I get to boss Jonathan around all day.  Just kidding, but it does mean that I get to choose what I want to see and do here in Washington DC today. 

First on the list was breakfast.  Jonathan was nice enough to make breakfast for Yvette and me – Eggs Benedict, my favorite.  He did an excellent job, and I look forward to having it again next year. 

   
Jonathan and I got to experience the sculpture garden outside the National Gallery of Art during our picnic lunch. 

  

         

 

I was also fortunate enough to get to choose lunch.

           
We had two different flavors of hummus, a loaf of nice, crusty bread, good cheese, and a nice white wine. 

  

We weren’t sure if it was ok to have alcohol in a public area, but we camouflaged it well.

Our first stop was the National Gallery of Art.  I wanted to go to the art museum. 

I know that most guys would groan at the thought of spending an entire afternoon looking at art, but Jonathan bore it well, and actually had a pretty good time.

             

The National Gallery of Art is really a beautiful building full of wonderful works of art. 

 

We thought that this painting was pretty funny.  The title is “Work”, and the only woman in the whole giant painting is this woman here.  Apparently the only “work” appropriate for women during this time period is breast-feeding. 

Monet

Van Gogh

Van Gogh is my favorite artist, so I always love seeing his art.
Monet is nice too.  I like how both artists would paint the same scenes at different seasons. 

Raphael

I also saw my first Raphael.  It’s a really beautiful painting, and the colors are magnificent.
I also like that it’s round.

I was really proud of Jonathan.
Not once did he complain, or get impatient, or want to go sit down, take a nap, and snore really loudly.

The Sleeper

 This guy did though.  And I bet his wife was happy to be rid of him, and a bit embarrassed as well.

I had to get a picture of this painting because I thought the girl looked like my niece, Emma.
Both are little blonde cuties.

Da Vinci

We got to see the only Leonardo Da Vinci in the United States. 

This painting is really cool – it’s two sided with a portrait on one side and an olive branch on the other. 

Botticelli

 

National Archives and the "Charters of Freedom"

       

Our next stop was the National Archives
so that we could see the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

          

    

Be prepared though, the wait to get in is long (we waited over an hour).

    

The "Charters of Freedom"


The Declaration of Independence

     
the Constitution

      
the Bill of Rights

And for those National Treasure fans, stealing it was not that easy.  Unfortunately, it’s no longer legible.  The Declaration of Independence hung on the wall in an office building for many years, and as such was irreparably damaged by sun and light.  So it’s a good thing we already know what it says.  Otherwise we might be in trouble.

    
The Magna Carta

At the Navy Memorial Plaza - the statues

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